Millcreek man battles breast cancer

Todd Vickers, 32, right, of Millcreek Township, was photographed with Andrea Nason, center, a UPMC Hamot nurse navigator and high risk & genetic counseling coordinator at Bayview Breast Care at UPMC Hamot, as they participated in a 15-minute telemedicine call with Darcy Thull, a certified genetic counselor with UPMC's Cancer Genetics Program at Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC. Vickers is undergoing chemotherapy to treat breast cancer, which is rare in men. He and Nason were located at UPMC Hamot Professional Building in Erie during the call and communicated via digital video with Thull, who is located in Pittsburgh.ANDY COLWELL/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER IN MEN

Breast cancer is rare in men, but it does happen. Here are the common symptoms:- A painless lump or thickening in breast tissue;- Changes to the skin covering your breast, such as dimpling, puckering, redness or scaling;- Redness or scaling of the nipple;- Discharge from the nipple.SOURCE: Mayoclinic.com

Todd Vickers wasn't concerned at first about the little bump on the right side of his chest.

Vickers, 32, had undergone open-heart surgery and figured the bump he found in late May was part of the healing process.

"It wasn't healing, though, so I went to the doctor," said Vickers, who lives in Millcreek Township. "He ordered a mammogram and a biopsy. When they were doing the biopsy, they said it looked like cancer."

Breast cancer does occur in men, though it's much rarer than it is in females. Only about 2,200 of the 235,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the United States each year are found in men, according to the American Cancer Society.

But it does happen, and it is a serious health issue, said Christopher Marsh, M.D., a medical oncologist at the Regional Cancer Center.

"Breast cancer tends to be more advanced when we find it in men because we don't do regular screenings for it with men like we do with women," Marsh said. "We usually pick it up in men when you can feel the tumor, not when it's only 5 millimeters big and it's detected on a mammogram."

Detecting breast cancer may be different in men, but treatment is the same. Vickers underwent surgery at UPMC Hamot to remove the tumor and a nearby lymph node that was malignant.

Chemotherapy was scheduled, and Vickers was assigned a breast health navigator to guide him through treatment.

"We had to scramble to get some things ready for Todd," said Andrea Nason, R.N., a breast health navigator with Bayview Breast Health at UPMC Hamot. "All of our education materials are pink, so we quickly got some ready in blue, because what guy wants to be surrounded with pink? We also switched the female illustrations for male ones."

Hamot employees even found blue ice packs for Vickers to use following surgery instead of the pink floral ones they usually give breast cancer patients.

Vickers also underwent genetic testing and counseling with Nason and Darcy Thull of Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. He met with Thull via teleconferencing.

"Men can also have the mutations to BRCA1 and BRCA2 that account for the majority of hereditary breast cancer," said Thull, a certified genetic counselor. "If they have the mutation, they have a higher risk of recurrence and a higher risk of developing prostate cancer."

Tests showed Vickers did not have the mutations.

"It's a relief because I'm also worried about my son or my father or brothers getting cancer," Vickers said.

Vickers has completed his first round of chemotherapy and has one 12-week round left. He might also receive radiation treatments to reduce the chance his cancer would return.

His prognosis is good, Marsh said.

"Chemo is never fun, but Todd is doing quite well," Marsh said.

Well enough to confide to his 9-year-son that he has cancer.

"I didn't tell him at first because his grandfather died of cancer and he associates cancer with death," Vickers said. "But know he knows I have it and that I'm getting chemo to help me get better. And he's doing well."

DAVID BRUCE can be reached at 870-1736 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNbruce.

SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER IN MEN

Breast cancer is rare in men, but it does happen. Here are the common symptoms:- A painless lump or thickening in breast tissue;- Changes to the skin covering your breast, such as dimpling, puckering, redness or scaling;- Redness or scaling of the nipple;- Discharge from the nipple.SOURCE: Mayoclinic.com